Gaming in the United States is divided into Class I, Class II and Class III games. Class I gaming includes social games played for minimal prizes, or traditional ceremonial games. Class II gaming includes bingo games, pull tab games, lotto, keno, and other similar games. Class III gaming includes any game that is not a Class I or Class II game, such as a game of chance typically offered in non-Indian, state-regulated casinos. Many games of chance that are played on wager-based gaming devices fall into the Class II and Class III categories of games.
Electronic gaming devices such as video slot machines and video poker machines are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the reason for their increased popularity is the nearly endless variety of games that can be made available for play on a single gaming device. Advancements in video and electronic gaming enable the operation of more complex games that would not otherwise be possible on mechanical-driven gaming devices or personal computers. For reference purposes, electronic wager-based gaming devices may be referred to as “EGDs” (“EGD” in singular form) or electronic gaming machines (EGMs).
Various games, particularly the Class II and Class III categories of games, can be implemented as server-based games in a server-client system. In a server-based gaming arrangement, a gaming server serves multiple gaming devices as clients. For example, a casino can include a plurality of EGDs located on the game floor, and a connected gaming server located in a back room of the casino. Generally, the games and capabilities of and EGD depend on the central server. Games can be downloaded from the central server to the EGDs for execution, for instance, when initiated by casino operations management. Alternatively, the central server can execute the games and output game data to the EGDs.
To enhance the gaming experience, there are a number of peripheral components/devices that can be connected to EGDs. Examples of these devices include player tracking units, lights, ticket printers, card readers, speakers, bill acceptors/validators, ticket readers, coin acceptors, display panels, key pads, coin hoppers and button pads. These peripheral devices are built into the EGD or otherwise attached to the EGD.
In the heavily regulated field of wager-based gaming, EGDs and their associated peripheral devices are required to be compliant with current wager-based gaming regulatory standards such as, for example, the well-known GLI standards, which have already been approved in various gaming jurisdictions. One example of a GLI standard is the GLI-11 standard version 3.0, Published Sep. 21, 2016 by Gaming Laboratories International, LLC, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.
One important consideration for casino operators relates to the ability of EGD service technicians to quickly access EGDs deployed in “the field” (e.g., EGDs deployed on a casino floor) while also maintaining proper levels of security. For example, if a component of an EGD needs to be inspected, serviced, and/or tested, a service technician may be dispatched to the EGD's location in order to perform the desired service/testing/inspection in the field.
In many situations, the servicing or inspection of an EGD button panel (and/or its components) may require removal or detachment of the button panel from the gaming machine cabinet. However, in many of today's EGD designs, the removal or detachment of the button panel can only be achieved via access the interior of the gaming machine cabinet. One reason for designing EGDs in this manner is that it provides some perceived security benefits. For example, access to the interior of a gaming machine cabinet is typically controlled via the opening/closing of a main access door, and most EGD typically include a variety of security mechanisms to monitor, detect, and track when the main access door has been opened/closed, and (in some cases) by whom. Accordingly, the removal or detachment of the button panel may be viewed as being more securely controlled by designing the EGD such that its button panel can only be removed or detached via access the interior of the gaming machine cabinet.
However, such conventional EGD designs may also be disadvantageous for a number of reasons. For example, if a service technician is required to open the main access door to obtain access to the interior of the gaming machine cabinet in order to remove or detach the button panel, this situation may introduce an additional security risks since, for example, the opening of the main access door also provides access to other components within the interior of the gaming machine cabinet, which may subsequently be tampered with while the main access door is in its open position. Additionally, in many conventional EGD designs, the removal or detachment of the button panel from the EGD may involve a relatively time consuming process. Further, because many EGDs are configured or designed to utilize various types of mechanical fasteners (e.g., screws, bolts, nuts, etc.) for assembling together the various components of an EGD, EGD service technicians are typically required to utilize a variety of different types of hand tools (e.g., screwdrivers, socket wrenches, crescent wrenches, pliers, etc.) in order to remove (and then re-install) specific fasteners during the process of accessing specific components of the EGD. Significant delays may be introduced during this process if the service technician does not have the proper tools and/or loses or misplaces one or more of the fasteners. Accordingly, one object of the present disclosure is to provide an improved EGD button panel assembly design which overcomes at least some of the disadvantageous features of existing EGD designs.
Another issue concerning EGD button panel access relates to security. For example, in wager-based gaming environments such as casinos, it is important that EGD designs provide adequate security mechanisms to detect and prevent unauthorized access to the gaming device components, including the EGD button panel components. Some currently existing EGD designs, such as the Orion Slant (sold by AGS LLC of Las Vegas, Nev.), utilize an access panel and intrusion detection switch to provide and maintain secure access to the button deck. In the Orion Slant EGD design, the button panel intrusion detection switch is mounted to a button panel frame assembly which is used to securely attach the button panel to the EGD gaming cabinet. The intrusion switch includes a plunger mechanism which directly engages with a removable access panel that is used to control access to the internal or interior components of the button panel. Thus, for example, when the access panel is in a secure and closed configuration, the surface of the access panel directly engages with the plunger mechanism of the intrusion switch. Alternatively, when the access panel is removed, the access panel does not engage with the switch's plunger mechanism, thereby causing a “non-secure” or “intrusion” condition to occur. In other EGD designs such as the Twinstar EGD (sold by Scientific Games Corporation of Las Vegas, Nev.) an access panel is used to provide secure access the button deck. The access panel is held on by phillips screws, and is interlocked by an EGD belly door so that the access panel cannot be removed unless the belly door is opened to obtain access to the interior of the EGD.
These types of EGD security features and designs may introduce a variety of undesirable aspects. For example, in EGD designs where the intrusion detection switch is mounted to the button panel frame assembly (e.g., which is located at the exterior of the gaming cabinet housing), the intrusion detection switch is more susceptible to tampering and unauthorized access. Additionally, in such EGD designs, in order to remove or detach the button panel frame assembly from the gaming cabinet, power to the intrusion detection switch would need to be disconnected. Accordingly, another object of the present disclosure is to provide an improved button panel security system which overcomes at least some of the disadvantageous features of existing EGD designs.